Monday, May 22, 2017

Bay Area Book Festival: Mystery, Crime, and Thrillers: June 3-4


The third annual Bay Area Book Festival will take place June 3-4 in Berkeley. The Festival will feature a full program of speakers, panels, and events focusing o Mystery, Crime, and Thrillers. Included will be Scott Turow, Walter Mosley, Bradley Spinelli, John Lescroart, Cara Black, Laurie King, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Hans Olav Lahlum, and more. These authors and others will participate in panels on topics such as Noir, Thrillers, and the Intersection of Journalism and Crime Writing.


The Bay Area Book Festival is a two-day indoor/outdoor weekend event that welcomes 200 local, national, and international  authors and speakers in 100 literary sessions (panels, interviews, keynotes, and performances) in auditoriums and theaters throughout downtown Berkeley. Outdoor sessions, booths, and activities are FREE to the public all weekend! Indoor sessions will require a ticket or Festival wristband, available here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bay-area-book-festival-june-3-4-2017-tickets-32932055665.

Highlights of this year’s conversations on mystery, crime, and thrillers, which will take place in venues in downtown Berkeley, include:

Master of the Legal Thriller: A Conversation with Scott Turow — Join bestselling author Scott Turow for a wide-ranging discussion of Turow’s legal thrillers and his long career in the law. This will be Turow’s only Bay Area appearance for his new book, Testimony. The author of Presumed Innocent and ten other widely praised novels, Turow has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide. (Sunday, June 4, 5:00pm, at the Alta Stage at Freight & Salvage)

Walter Mosley – Walking the Wild Side — Twenty-five years ago, Walter Mosley introduced us to Easy Rawlins, an Army vet turned private eye, to tell the story of black postwar Los Angeles. Today, with 55 critically acclaimed books, Mosley is one of America’s best-known and most beloved living writers. (Former president Bill Clinton named Mosley one of his favorite authors.) Learn how Mosley crafts his trademark accessibility, along his penchant for creating narratives that both entertain and instruct. (Saturday, June 3, 1:30pm, at the Hotel Shattuck Plaza - Crystal Ballroom, sponsored by Northern California Chapter, Mystery Writers of America)

Noir at the Bar  — Join us to toast local and international mystery writers who have mastered the form. Make Dashiell Hammett proud by ordering a dirty martini (or some other hard-boiled cocktail) and listening to riveting short readings—no more than 8 minutes—from Walter Mosley, Hans Olav Lahlum, Bill Moody, Heather Haven, Nick Mamatas, Mysti Berry, Ann Parker, and Randal Brandt. This will no doubt prove an increasingly rowdy audience of fans and readers. (Saturday, June 3, 5:15pm, at Cornerstone, sponsored by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, NORLA - Norwegian Literature Abroad, and Norway House Foundation)

Thrillers: Secrets of the Craft — What are the essential ingredients in a captivating thriller? What kinds of characters do you need, and how do you build suspense, anticipation, and dread? Four bestselling thriller authors will reveal the trade secrets of the craft. John Lescroart’s newest book, Fatal, is “a psychological thriller in bed with a homicide investigation.” Danish writer Thomas Rydahl’s hero is “one of the most distinctive detectives you will meet this year.” Bradley Spinelli is not only a writer but film director, and prolific Chuck Wendig brings game design to our panel’s list of accomplishments. Moderator Keith Raffel, a mystery and thriller writer himself, formerly served as counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee overseeing the CIA, NSA, and other clandestine three-lettered agencies. (Saturday, June 3, 1:30pm, David Brower Center - Tamalpais Room, sponsored by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Danish Arts Foundation, the Royal Danish Embassy, and Mystery Writers of America, Northern California Chapter)

The Art of Investigation: Journalists Meet Crime Writers — There is a curious connection between crime novels and investigative reporting. Both are called “stories” by their practitioners. Both present victims and an evildoer, whether that be a person or a system, and both work with suspicion, suspense, and a constant assessment of the reliability of sources of information. Michael Montgomery is a journalist who has reported on some of the most heinous real-life mysteries around the world. Erik Axl Sund is the pseudonym of two Swedish writers whose blockbuster The Crow Girl is “a jolting examination of a cycle of abuse and revenge” that “builds a powerful indictment of society’s willingness to turn a blind eye toward powerful, privileged abusers preying on the weak” (Booklist, starred review). (Sunday, June 4, 1:15pm, at BAMPFA - Barbro Osher Theater, sponsored by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and Margaret and Will Hearst)

Festival-goer favorite, Nordic Noir returns for the third year! Nordic masters Thomas Rydahl, Hans Olav Lahlum, Vidar Sundstol, and Erik Axl Sund illuminate what makes a thriller thrilling, and how these writers survive the experience (sponsored by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Danish Arts Foundation, the Royal Danish Embassy, the Norway House Foundation, and NORLA - Norwegian Literature Abroad).

Hard-boiled mystery writers Wendy Hornsby, Ellen Kirschman, and Vidar Sundstol will clue you in on what makes a suspenseful “whodunit?” (sponsored by the Northern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America).

Bestselling Danish writer Jussi Adler-Olsen (creator of the Department Q novels, the latest of which is The Hanging Girl) will share insights on his career and the process of crafting international sensations (Sponsored by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Royal Danish Embassy).

Be sure and stop by the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime Booths to meet authors, buy books, and chat with writer members.

For info on other sessions focusing on mystery, crime, and thrillers see the full schedule.
 

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